


Infinity, Love, and Rosanna Pansino

by canufeelthemagictonight



Category: Escape the Night (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Death, Eventual Happy Ending, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Parallel Universes, Survival, Survivor Guilt, Too many to list - Freeform, like SO MANY AUs actually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 18:52:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16310783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canufeelthemagictonight/pseuds/canufeelthemagictonight
Summary: There are a thousand universes where he loses her.All the realities in which Rosanna leaves Matt alone, and three in which she doesn't.An Escape the Night one-shot.





	Infinity, Love, and Rosanna Pansino

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title: "Dang, Rosanna Sure Was In Danger A Bunch."

There are a thousand universes where he loses her.

There's one where her number comes up on the dice, and there is no Mortimer to save them. He watches through tears as she dies surrounded by pretty painted horses, and as the traumatized cries of his friends fill the air, he wishes that he never brought her to this cursed place.

There's one where the card Roi chose is drawn and displayed to a shocked group. Rosanna smiles sadly, takes a deep breath, and selects her unofficial brother as the one she trusts the most to save her. Matt tries. He _really_ tries. But the hot dogs are too dry for his throat, and she's stabbed to death on a wonder wheel while he sobs her name. He blames himself. He never laughs again.

There's one where Nikita's vote proves miscalculated, and Rosanna falls to the the snakes. There's also one where Rosanna's battle against the Man with No Name extinguishes her fire rather than revealing it. In both of these, Matt cranes his neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of a small brunette with a yellow hat and a bright smile, only to be crushed in the iron grip of dark reality.

There's one where both Matt and Rosanna are chosen to face the Man with No Name. She pretends to search for tiles, and he fools himself into thinking that she _is_ searching for tiles, but in reality, she's counting blades of foggy grass and humming a happy tune to herself. He doesn't understand what she's doing until it's too late to save her. When he returns alone, the room goes quiet with regret.

There's one where Rosanna dies alone, impaled by a cruel Maiden, and all the promises forged to protect her fail. When Matt comes back to life, there is no little Jet Setter there to greet him. He never forgives Colleen. Neither, for that matter, does Colleen.

There's one where Manny wins the Funhouse, and he thinks, for one awful minute, that he's about to lose his girl, but he doesn't. Matt does. Matt watches, helpless, as Willy the Funhouse Man sinks his fishhook into Rosanna's stomach. Blood stains her periwinkle dress. She falls to the ground. He begs her to wake up, but there is no waking her now. He spends the rest of the evening searching for answers.

There's one you know. This is the one where Rosanna tells Matt she loves him and peacefully passes into the night.

There are _nine_ realities featuring Rosanna in the final challenge, and in each one, she defeats a different opponent...but in each one, the end result is the same. She shoots herself, because she is Rosanna Pansino, and Rosanna Pansino would _never_ hurt a friend. Matt is powerless to change her mind. They were _so_ close, but in the end, her golden heart destroys her forever, and he must leave as half of a shattered pair.

There are just as many realities where the other person shoots Rosanna instead, despite Matt's pleas for them to spare her life. There's even one where _he_ shoots her, not because he wants to, but because she doesn't let him shoot himself. That is the worst reality for him, because in that reality, not only has he lost her, but he _murdered_ her to boot. He'll live with the blood on his hands for the rest of his life.

There's one where the zombies grab Rosanna. Matt pushes everyone forward, desperate to rescue his best friend, but they're too late. Her dying screams echo in his ears, and he collapses into a pile of anguished grief.

That's just a sample. In this vast expanse of parallel universes, there are a thousand dead Rosannas, together with a thousand broken Matts. Sometimes, he dies as well. Other times, he survives without her. Of course, there are a thousand more universes where _she_ loses _him,_ but those, to him, are not quite as terrible.

But there are three universes where both of them live.

In the first, they survive together, and they walk through the gates of Everlock with their arms around each other. Rosanna cries in remembrance of her lost friends, and Matt holds her close and tells her that it's okay. He's lying. It's _not_ okay. It will _never_ be okay. But at least they have each other.

There's another one where all ten of them make it, saved by a series of miracles. In that one, they're all smiles as they depart for 2018. They reenter their beautiful blue car, turn on the radio, and sing along to whatever happens to be playing. Matt tells a corny joke. Rosanna laughs. Neither of them mentions the despair that could've been.

Finally, there is a universe where they never set foot in Everlock at all. This is the universe where Matt keeps making theories, Rosanna keeps making baked goods, both of them keep making cute collabs together, and all is right with the world. Here, evil cannot touch them. Here, they're free at last.

(In a way, the golden ending is right before our eyes.)

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I know this is different from the stuff I usually do, but I hope you like it anyway!


End file.
